Apparatus for casting metal ingots



APPARATUS FOR CASTING METAL INGOTS Filed NOV. 18, 1955 Q 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 JJUJOQOJ INVENTOR.

@Ii FRANK RICE BY 9% a? bA/z ATTORNEY Feb. 7, 1961 F. RICE Filed Nov. 18,. 1955 APPARATUS FOR CASTING METAL INGOTS V 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

FRANK RICE ATTORNEY Feb. 7, 1961 F. RICE APPARATUS FOR CASTING METAL INGOTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV- 18, 1955 FRANK RICE ATTORNEY {problem of some difficulty. a hood over the molds since they are normally filled APPARATUS FOR CASTING METAL INGOTS Frank Rice, Aliquippa, Pa., assignor to Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Nov. 18, 1955, Ser. No. 547,660

3 Claims. (Cl. 2279) This invention relates to apparatus for casting metal ingots. It is more specifically concerned with apparatus for adding predetermined quantities of solid addition material to such ingots and withdrawing objectionable fumes or gases evolved therefrom.

My invention is particularly adapted to casting steel ingots and will be described hereinafter in that connection, but is not limited to steel. In the manufacture of steel it is not uncommon to add certain materials in solid form to the molten steel after it has been cast into ingot molds. This is particularly true of lead which is added to steels to improve their machinability. Lead is appreciably heavier than steel and if added to molten steel in the furnace or the ladle will tend to collect at the bottom rather than distribute itself uniformly throughout the metal. In order to obtain uniform distribution of lead throughan ingot, it is necessary generally to add the lead in the form of small pellets or shot to molten steel as it is being cast into an ingot mold. The lead particles 'are generally introduced into the stream of metal flowing from the ladle nozzle into the ingot mold. Furthermore, it is necessary to control the rate at which such lead is added in order that its distribution from top to bottom of an ingot will be uniform.

Certain solid materials added to steel in an ingot mold produce fumes or gases which are objectionable or poisonous to those working on the pouring platform and elsewhere adjacent thereto. Lead is perhaps the most objectionable of such addition agents. Since lead boils .at .a temperature below that of moltensteeL'it is, as a practical matter, impossible to addlead to steel in ingot aired grates Patent ice tion. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic in plan of the fume removal portion of the apparatus of my invention. Fig. 4 is a perspective of the'hood buggy of my invention. Fig. 5 is a partial perspective of the hood buggy of Fig. 4 fitted with the high mold adapter of my invention. Fig. 6 is a perspective of the collector pipe of the fume removal system of my invention together with its flexible covering flaps and an end of a hood buggy up-take. Fig. 7 is a cross section of the apparatus shown in Fig. 6.

It is conventional practice in steel making shops to position a number ofingot molds 1-1 upon a mold buggy 2 which is movable along a track 3. Above the molds a ladle 4 provided with a bottom tap hole 5 is suspended from a conventional overhead traveling crane 9 by cables 77 moving around sheaves 8-8 attached to a stretcher 10 provided with ladle hooks 11-11. The ladle 4 has a pair of trunnions 12-12 attached thereto which fit in ladle hooks 1111. A pouring platform 13 is positioned alongside track 3 paralleling the rowof ingot molds 1 at a height such that its upper surface is at about the level of the tops of ingot molds 1. From this pouring platform the steel pourer operates the mechanism which opens and closes tap hole 5 of ladle 4, such mechanism not being shown here as it is conventional. From this platform 13 are also made such additions as are necessary to ingot molds 1. The overhead crane 9 is provided with a cab 14 which is positioned to move with the crane above the pouring platform, the bottom of the cab being high enough to clear workers 'on the pouring platform. The crane operator from his cab is able to see the tops of ingot molds 1 so that he can position ladle 4 over successive ingot molds 1--1 as the ingots are cast.

' I provide crane cab 14 with a reservoir 15 for lead shot or other solid addition material. Reservoir 15 has a filler opening 16 in the top thereof provided with a filler pipe 17 extending upwardly and out beyond the crane cab. A storage bin 20 is rigidly attached to strucmolds without the evolution of an appreciable quantity I of lead fumes which, of course, are quite poisonous. The collection of such lead fumes from ingot molds is a It is not-possible to place from above by a ladle which is suspended from an-overhead ladle crane.

It is not possible to-surround anin dividual ingotmold being cast with a fume-tight enclosure V because the lead shot must be introduced into the stream of metal, as above mentioned.

It is an object of my invention, therefore, to provide apparatus for automatically introducing solid material into the tops of ingot molds and withdrawing and disposing It is another object of my invention to provide such apparatus which does not of fumes from said ingot molds.

encumber the pouring platform when it is not in use.

pear in the course of the following description thereof. My invention comprises, briefly, apparatus for automaticallyfeeding solid materials and fume withdrawal api i .Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus'of my inven-L V It is another object of my invention to provide such apparatus which is adaptable for use with ingot molds of 1 different heights. Other objects of my invention will aplarge diameter. x

form 13 collector pipe 30 is provided with a longitudinal tural members of the shop building (not shown) at any convenient point and provided with a discharge pipe 21 which may be connected to filler pipe 17 by suitable means when crane cab 14 is moved to a position adjacent storage bin 20. Storage bin 24) may be filled by conventional elevator means, not shown.

Reservoir 15 supplies lead shot to automatic feeder means 22 which may be of any conventional type capable of supplying a predetermined weight of materialin a predetermined time. Automaticfeedingfmeans 22 are. not described in detail since such feeders are well-known. 7

Automatic feeding means suitable for my inventionare made by Omega Machine Co. of Providence, Rhode Island. The controls for feeder 22, which is normally electrically operated, are mounted on .a control panel 23 which is in turn mounted-on the outside of crane cab 14 in such a position that it-can readily be reached by a man standing on pouring platfcrm13.

Automatic feeder 22discharges into a conduit which includes a. flexible hose portion 26 anda tubular nozzle so portio n 1 27. (londuitZS, hose'26 and nozzle 27 are'so V proportioned that nozzle Z'T may, be held by a workman (shown in dotted lines) on pouring platform 13 and extended out over theingot moldl which is directly beneath tap hole 5 of ladle '4. fl. V

Above pouring platform 13. and xtending along-this platform parallel to track-'3 is a collector pipe 30. Pipe 30 is desirably made'of sheet metal and isofrelatively Throughout the-length of pouring platopening 31' having an upper edge 32 and a loweredg'e 33. =Atfixed to upper edge 32 is an elongated flap- 34fof flexible material, such as leather,. and a'ffixed to lo welr edge 33 isa similar flap 35.;-Thes e two i ilaps ext e'nd outwardly of pipe 30 and meet in a plane passing through the long axis of pipe 30 in such manner that they normally close pipe 3%. Collector pipe 3% is closed at one end and, as is shown in Fig. 3, at the other communicates through filter means 37 with blower means 38 so arranged as to exhaust gases from collector pipe into the atmosphere.

i provide pouring platform 13 with a pair of rails ill near its edge adjacent ingot molds l and parallel to track 3. On this track I mount for movement thereon a hood buggy designated generally ill. Hood buggy a provided with flanged wheels d24'2 which roll on track it Hood buggy 41 carries an elongated chamber 43 which is closed except as otherwise described. The side 44 of chamber 43, which is adjacent ingot molds 11, is pierced with an elongated opening 46, the long axis of which is parallel to rails 4i Gpening do is positioned at the level of the tops of ingot molds lll and is desirably made as long as the space occupied by four or five ingot molds 1-1 on mold bug 2. Each end of chamber 43 is provided with an tip-take communicating the 'ewith having a vertical wall as which is an extension of front wall as of chamber 43. Each vertical wall 49 is provided with a plurality of outwardly projecting hooks 59-58. Front wall 4-4 of chamber 43 is provided with an outwardly extending flange 51 positioned the full length of hood buggy it along the bottom of longitudinal opening as. The embodiment of hood buggy 41 shown in Fig. 4 is provided with a second outwardly extending flange 52 which is detachably mounted on hood buggy ll. Flange 2 is formed with a vertical portion 53 at each end thereof provided with holes d-54 which fit over hooks tl't'i on walls 4-9 49 of hood bugg d1, suspending flange 52 just above the upper edge of longitudinal opening 46. Flanges 51 and 52 form'an outward extension of opening as and, as will be observed from Fig. 2, extend toward ingot molds 1-1, partially closing the gap which must necessarily remain between the ingot molds and hood buggy 41.

In the embodiment of hood buggy 41, shown in my Fig. 5, flange 52 is replaced by a detachable chamber designated generally 55. Chamber 55 is made the same length as my hood buggy 41, has a front wall 56 and rear Wall 57 which are'parallel, and is otherwise closed except as hereinafter described. Rear wall 57 is formed with an elongated opening 58 near the bottom thereof throughout substantially the entire length of chamber 55, and front wall 56 is provided with'an elongated opening. an located near the top thereofthroughout substantially its entire length. Rear wall 57 of my chamber 55 is also provided with holes til-61 which fit over hooks Sit-54 previously mentioned; so as to position chamber 55 on hood buggy 41 with opening 58 in the rear wall 57 of chamber 55 coinciding with opening 46 in front Wall 44 of chamber 43.

' Each up-take 48 of hood buggy 41 is connected through an elbow duct 62 with reducer duct 63 having an elongated open end 64. The long axis of open end 6 is parallel to the long axis of collector pipe 3%. End 64 has parallel upper and lower faces 65 and 66, respective.

ly, which are joined'at each end by triangular end portions 67-67. Each triangular end portion is formed by upper flat surface 70which is a continuation of top surface 65 and inclined thereto and lower fiat surface 71 which is an extension of lower surface as but inclined thereto. Surfaces 79 and 71 meet at an edge 72 and the triangular space between these surfaces is closed off at the outside end by a triangular piece 73. a v

Hood buggy 41 is connected to cranecab M by bar 75 sothat it is moved along rails 49 by movement of the crane cab 14. Intermediate rip-takes 48-43 on chamshaped notch 78 of a size'sufficient to accommodate nozzle 27. Bracket 77 is positioned so. that it is'directly pposite tap hole 5 of ladle a when hood buggy 41 is connected to crane cab M by connecting bar 75, previously mentioned.

The operation of my apparatus will now be described with reference to the above described present preferred embodiment. Bin 26 is kept supplied with lead shot of the proper size. Reservoir 15 in crane cab 14 is filled by moving the crane 9 until filler pipe 17 of reservoir 15 is opposite discharge pipe 21 of hopper 2d. The two pipes are then connected and lead shot allowed to feed by gravity into reservoir 15 until the latter is filled. When a heat of steel is to be cast into ingots, ladle a is filled with molten steel in the usual manner and positioned above the first ingot l ofsuccessive ingot molds 1-1, mounted on mold buggys 2'-Z. Hood buggy 41 is connected to crane cab ll i by connecting bar 75. Nozzle '27 is held by a worker in U-shaped notch 78 on bracket '77 which positions nozzle 27 directly above ingot mold l which will be filled by molten steel leaving ladle 4 through tap hole 5. Automatic feeder 22 is set to deliver the desired weight of lead shot in the desired time for the size ingot to be cast. When molten'steel begins to flow through tap hole 5 into ingot mold l, the automatic feeder 22 is set in operation by the proper control on panel Z3 and begins delivering lead shot through conduit 25 and hose 26 to nozzle 27 from which it is directed into the stream of molten metal from the ladle 4. Because of small random movements of ladle 4 and the stream of hot metal entering mold 1, it is necessary that a workman adjust nozzle 27 during the casting of an ingot to make sure that the lead shot is directed into the srearn of molten metal. However, as has been mentioned, bracket 77 positions nozzle 27 so that it is directly opposite the proper ingot mold.

Blower means 3% is started up so as to exhaust the atmosphere from collector pipe 36. Pipe 34 is normally closed by flexible flaps 34 and 35 and the atmospheric pressure tends to force these flaps together, sealing col- 'lector pipe 34 except in the region where the open end 64 of duct 63 is positioned between flaps 34 and 35. Through this open end 64 the atmosphere from the associated ducts and chamber 43 on hood buggy 41 is exhausted through collector pipe 3%. Connector bar 75 positions hood buggy 41 adjacent the ingot mold 1 being filled, and through aperture 46 and chamber 43 atmospheric air and whatever gases or fumes are evolved from ingot mold 1 are sucked in. As has been mentioned, upper and lower flanges 51 and 52 of hood buggy 41 extend the duct system toward ingot molds 11 soas to minimize the escape of fumes. When one ingot mold is cast, the crane 9 is moved along the row of ingot molds until ladle disover the next ingot mold 1 in line and the procedures above described are repeated; Hood buggy 41 moves freely along the pouring platform 13 pulled by the crane 9, and open end 64 of duct 63 moves freely between flexible flaps 3d and 35 of collector pipe v 39, these fiaps'being opened by the leading edge 72 of triangular end 6'7 of the duct system and closing behind her 43 of hood buggy 41 is located a positioning bracket 77, the upright portion of which is formed into a U- the similar trailing edge at the other end ofv opening 64.

Aperture 46 in chamber 43 is considerably longer than the width of one ingot mold ll so that any g'ases or fumes which may continue to be evolved from ingots previously cast are sucked into this aperture and the duct system.

As I have mentioned, my apparatus can be adapted to ingot molds of varying heights. The hood buggy 41 shown in Fig. 4 is adapted for the lowest ingot molds to be used. When higher molds "are to be filled with steel, an adapter or auxiliary chamber 55, such as is shown in Fig.5, may be used with my apparatus. The position of elongated aperture as in adapter 55 is chosen so that it is at'about the level of the tops of the higher ingot molds to be used.

When an adapter .55 is to be used, top flange 52 must first be lifted offhood buggy dd and replaced by adapter 55'jwhich is constructed so that its bottom face rests upon lower flange 51 permanently attached to hood buggy If it is desired to cast a heat or heats of steel which do not require the use of my apparatus, hood buggy 41 is detached from crane cab 14 by disconnecting coupling bar 75 and hood buggy 41 pushed to the end of pouring platform 13. Hose 26 may be disconnected from conduit 25 so that this hose and its attached nozzle 27 are out of the way.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for casting ingots in a plurality of upright ingot molds arranged in a row from a laddle supported by overhead crane means for movement along and above said row comprising a track positioned alongside the row of ingot molds, a separate wheeled buggy movable along the track and detachably connected to the overhead crane means, a chamber on the buggy having an elongated opening in its side adjacent to the ingot molds at the level of the tops thereof, and an exhaust pipe movable with the chamber and movably connected into stationary means for continuously exhausting the chamber.

2. Apparatus of claim 1 including an auxiliary elongated chamber detachably connected to the buggy communicating with the elongated opening in the chamber and provided with an elongated opening in its opposite side at a level different from that of the elongated opening in the chamber.

3. Apparatus of claim 1 including a reservoir for solid addition material carried by the overhead crane and conduit means detachably connected to the reservoir for discharging the addition material into an ingot mold, the nozzle of the conduit means being positioned above one of the ingot molds by means atfixed to the buggy.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 349,097 Holbrook Sept. 14, 1886 1,183,397 Newcomb May 16, 1916 1,193,670 Davis Aug. 8, 1916 1,401,928 Sheldon Dec. 27, 1921 1,903,329 Beard Apr. 4, 1933 2,197,259 Nead Apr. 16, 1940 2,250,913 Hughes July 29, 1941 2,627,220 Morrow Feb. 3, 1953 2,693,749 Houdek Nov. 9, 1954 2,702,505 Nelson Feb. 22, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 537,204 Great Britain June 12, 1941 France June 24, 1953 

